The Last Trastámara Queen

💔 A blog dedicated to Juana I, Queen of Castile and Aragon. The most tragic queen in Spanish history. Her marriage to Philip the Handsome initiated the rule of the Habsburgs in Spain 💔

[kathrynhoward]

ALBA GALOCHA as JUANA OF CASTILLE THE SPANISH PRINCESS (2019 - 2020)

[juanaofcastilla]

Juana of Castile - Mad Love's Shadow

[catalinadearagonsblog]

Trastámara Sisters - Queens of the Broken Crown

[juanaofcastilla]

Reimagined Juana of Castile in different eras

[juanaofcastilla]

Constanza of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster

Constance of Castile, known in Spanish as Constanza de Castilla, was the daughter of King Peter I of Castile and the rightful claimant to the Castilian throne after her father’s death in 1369. She married John of Gaunt, one of the most powerful English nobles, and through this union he claimed the crown of Castile in her name. Although they never secured the throne, her claim played an important role in Anglo-Castilian politics during the late Middle Ages. Her greatest historical legacy came through her daughter, Catherine of Lancaster, who married King Henry III of Castile, helping to unite rival dynastic claims and strengthen peace between England and Castile. Constance’s life left a lasting mark on European diplomacy and royal succession.

[catalinadearagonsblog]

The children of Pedro I and María de Padilla

The children of María de Padilla and Peter of Castile lived lives marked by legitimacy struggles, dynastic ambition, exile, and early death. Although María died in 1361, Peter later declared that she had been his true wife, which legitimized their children and changed their political fate.

[catalinadearagonsblog]

Maria de Padilla, A Queen after her death

María de Padilla remains one of the most compelling figures of medieval Castile, not for wielding formal power, but for the quiet influence she exercised at the heart of the court of Pedro I of Castile. Remembered as the king’s great love—and later recognized as his legitimate wife—she occupied a unique space between personal devotion and political consequence.

[juanaofcastilla]

Is Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, related to Juana of Castile and Catherine of Aragon?

Yes. Their connection comes from their shared origin in the royal house of Wessex. Æthelflæd was the daughter of Alfred The Great, King of Wessex. Juana of Castile and Catherine of Aragon are also descended from Alfred via his son Edward the Elder, Æthelflæd's brother.

🌿 From Wessex to Castile (direct line)

Alfred the Great

↓

Edward the Elder

↓

Edmund I of England

↓

Edgar the Peaceful

↓

Æthelred II

↓

Edmund II Ironside

↓

Edward the Exile

↓

Saint Margaret of Scotland

↓

Matilda of Scotland

↓

Empress Matilda

↓

Henry II of England

↓

Eleanor of England

↓

Berenguela I of Castile

↓

Ferdinand III of Castile

↓

Alfonso X of Castile

↓

Sancho IV of Castile

↓

Ferdinand IV of Castile

↓

Alfonso XI of Castile

↓

Henry II of Castile

↓

John I of Castile

↓

Henry III of Castile

↓

John II of Castile

↓

Isabella I of Castile

↓

Juana of Castile and Catherine of Aragon

[juanaofcastilla]

Juana I, Queen of Castile and Aragon

[catalinadearagonsblog]

Isabel, Juan, Juana, María and Catalina (the children of Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon) tended to share the same general complexion:

Fair/pale skin

Reddish-blond to auburn hair (sometimes described as “ginger” or “tawny”)

Light-colored eyes (commonly blue or grayish-blue)

[catalinadearagonsblog]

Here’s the sadly ironic ranking of the Catholic Monarchs’ daughters by how happy their lives seem to have been, based on marriages, stability, health, and personal suffering.

🥇 Happiest life (relatively): Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

Married Manuel I of Portugal, a powerful and wealthy king.

Her marriage appears stable and respectful.

She had many children and fulfilled the expected role of queen.

Deeply religious, which likely gave her personal consolation.

👉 She still endured constant pregnancies (which damaged her health), but compared with her sisters, her life was the most peaceful and secure.

🥈 Second: Isabel of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (the eldest)

First marriage happy but short (husband died).

Second marriage to Manuel I seems politically successful and not unhappy.

Became queen and mother of the heir of the Crowns of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal.

💔 However:

She died very young in childbirth (1498).

Her early death prevented later suffering — which paradoxically makes her life seem “less tragic” than some sisters’.

🥉 Third: Catherine of Aragon

Began as Princess of Wales, later Queen of England.

Early marriage to her second husband, Henry VIII of England, was reportedly affectionate.

Popular with the English people and respected politically.

💔 But:

A short and controversial first marriage.

Her seven years of widowhood were generally difficult and uncertain.

Multiple miscarriages and infant deaths.

Public repudiation and divorce crisis.

Final years spent isolated, stripped of status, separated from her daughter.

👉 She had great dignity, but not a happy ending.

😢 Most tragic life: Juana of Castile

Marriage to Philip I of Castile emotionally turbulent.

Widowed young.

Declared mentally unstable and confined for decades.

Spent much of her life effectively a prisoner while still legally queen.

👉 She likely experienced the least personal freedom and most prolonged suffering.

[isadomna]

Leonor de Guzmán, the mother of the first Trastámara king

Leonor de Guzmán, the formidable and captivating favorite of Alfonso XI of Castile for more than two decades, rose from noble birth to wield a power that rivaled the crown itself. Mother of ten of the king’s children—including Henry II of Castile, future founder of the Trastámara dynasty—she stood at the heart of a court torn by desire, ambition, and betrayal. Her life unfolded as a drama of passion and intrigue, of rival queens and simmering vengeance, culminating in a tragic fall. Yet even in death, her legacy endured, as the blood she gave the realm would one day seize the throne—transforming her story into one not only of ruin, but of ultimate, undeniable triumph.

[juanaofcastilla]

[catalinadearagonsblog]

[catalinadearagonsblog]

In the autumn of 1469, a journey began that would change the course of Spanish history. The young Prince Ferdinand, heir to the Crown of Aragon and King of Sicily, set out secretly for Castile to marry infanta Isabella of Castile. Their union promised to reshape the political future of the Iberian Peninsula, but it also carried considerable risk.

Isabella’s half-brother, Henry IV of Castile, opposed the marriage and might have tried to prevent it if Ferdinand had entered the kingdom openly. To avoid interception by the king’s supporters, Ferdinand and a very small group of trusted companions crossed into Castile quietly and traveled along secondary roads. To protect his identity, the prince adopted the appearance of a humble servant or muleteer rather than a royal nobleman.

One of the most frequently repeated anecdotes of the journey concerns the modest animal he rode. Instead of a fine horse suitable for a prince, Ferdinand traveled on a mule, a far less conspicuous mount for a man of ordinary status. According to tradition, when one of his companions complained that such an animal was unworthy of the heir to Aragon, Ferdinand replied that it was better to ride poorly than to be recognized too soon.

Another story tells that at a roadside inn the disguised prince behaved exactly as a servant would. To maintain the deception, he is said to have helped attend to the table, serving food as if he were merely an attendant to his companions. The other guests in the inn, unaware of his true identity, treated him as an ordinary young servant.

After several days traveling discreetly across the countryside, Ferdinand finally approached Valladolid, where Isabella was waiting. According to tradition, he arrived at night. When he presented himself at the residence where Isabella was staying, his simple clothing and modest appearance caused some confusion. It is said that someone present doubted that the humble “servant” before them could truly be the Prince of Aragon and King of Sicily.

Once Ferdinand arrived secretly in Valladolid and the two met, the marriage was quickly agreed upon, showing that the encounter was successful and harmonious. Within a few days of meeting, on 19 October 1469, the couple were married at the Vivero Palace. The ceremony was relatively modest but politically explosive.

Because Ferdinand and Isabella were second cousins, Church law required a papal dispensation to marry. Henry IV of Castile put pressure on Rome and the papal legates to prevent the bull from being dispensed. Faced with the difficulty of obtaining the dispensation in time, Isabella’s supporters used the famous forged bull attributed to Pius II in order to celebrate the wedding. Once the couple became powerful, they requested and received a real papal dispensation from Pope Sixtus IV, which legalized the marriage retroactively.

[kathrynhoward]

ALBA GALOCHA as JUANA OF CASTILLE THE SPANISH PRINCESS

[juanaofcastilla]

The tragic lives of Juana I of Castile and Catherine of Aragon are widely known, but another Trastámara fared no better in life: Blanca II of Navarre, the crownless queen repudiated by her husband and her family.